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116-478: Via Rail Canada Inc. ( reporting mark VIA ) ( / ˈ v iː ə / ), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail ), is a Canadian national transportation agency. It is a Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight Canadian provinces and 12,500 kilometres (7,800 mi) of track, 97 percent of which

232-674: A 2-digit code indicating the vehicle's register country . The registered keeper of a vehicle is now indicated by a separate Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM), usually the name of the owning company or an abbreviation thereof, which must be registered with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and which is unique throughout Europe and parts of Asia and Northern Africa. The VKM must be between two and five letters in length and can use any of

348-606: A business, it is hindered by the fact that it was created by an Order in Council and not from legislation passed by Parliament . Had Via been enabled by legislation, the company would be permitted to seek funding on the open money markets as other Crown corporations such as CN have done in the past. It is largely for this reason that critics say Via—like Amtrak in the United States—is vulnerable to federal budget cuts and continues to answer first to its political masters, as opposed to

464-557: A change of -3.2% from its 2016 population of 899. With a land area of 50.83 km (19.63 sq mi), it had a population density of 17.1/km in 2021. As of the 2021 Canada Census, just over 56 percent of the population is Indigenous , and the rest (43 percent) are non-native. Of the Indigenous population, there were 345 First Nations (69 percent), 80 Métis (16 percent), 25 Inuit (5 percent) and 35 people (7 percent) had multiple Indigenous ancestry. The non-native population

580-573: A coastal location at a latitude of 58 degrees north should warrant. The shallow Hudson Bay freezes over in the winter, eliminating maritime transit. Prevailing northerly winds from the North Pole jet across the frozen bay, leading to a January average temperature of −26.0 °C (−14.8 °F), comparable to the frigid cold in the Siberian Arctic city of Norilsk , which is at a much higher latitude of 69 degrees north. Juneau, Alaska , by contrast,

696-508: A connection to a second Via train had been missed. As such, compensation costs were factored into Via's 2018 budget. By the end of 2018, the full route time on the Canadian had been increased twice to absorb freight delays. The second extension – to five days – has been mostly successful in decreasing delays, and also allowed for a daytime transit of Hells Gate in BC, previously transversed overnight in

812-497: A contract since 31 December 2006. Full service resumed on 27 July. An additional strike by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, representing around 2,200 employees, was planned to begin on 4 July 2010, but was called off after the union and Via reached a three-year contract. Via experienced more service cuts at the dawn of the 2010s. In March 2011, the daily Victoria–Courtenay The Malahat RDC service on Vancouver Island

928-480: A dedicated track between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, offering more frequent trains (although running at conventional speeds). In Ontario, Via would run a new rail line on currently underused tracks from Toronto to Ottawa through Peterborough instead of Kingston. In Quebec, corridor trains would travel from Montreal to Quebec City through Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River rather than on

1044-589: A fleet of unused passenger cars which had been built for planned Nightstar sleeper services between locations in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel were purchased and adapted following the cancellation of the Nightstar project. The new " Renaissance " cars were swiftly nicknamed déplaisance ("displeasure") by French-speaking employees and customers, due to early problems adapting

1160-575: A handful of LRC locomotives remained in service which were subsequently retired by the arrival of the GE Genesis locomotives in 2001). The election of Brian Mulroney 's Progressive Conservative government in 1984 brought an initial friend to Via, when several of Mulroney's commitments included rescinding the Via cuts of 1981 by restoring the Super Continental (under pressure from his western caucus), and

1276-461: A hyphen. Some examples: When a vehicle is sold it will not normally be transferred to another register. The Czech railways bought large numbers of coaches from ÖBB. The number remained the same but the VKM changed from A-ÖBB to A-ČD. The UIC introduced a uniform numbering system for their members based on a 12-digit number, largely known as UIC number . The third and fourth digit of the number indicated

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1392-607: A log fort a few kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Churchill River . The trading post and river were named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , who was governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in the late 17th century. The fort, Prince of Wales Fort , was rebuilt at the mouth of the river. The fort was primarily built to capitalize on the North American fur trade , out of the reach of York Factory . It dealt mainly with

1508-404: A minimal service through the 1970s, with the government subsidizing up to 80 percent of losses. CN, being a Crown corporation at that time, was encouraged by the federal government and political interests to invest in passenger trains. Innovative marketing schemes such as Red, White, and Blue fares, new equipment such as scenic dome cars and rail diesel cars , and services such as Rapido and

1624-411: A negative COVID test was also considered an alternate to show proof of vaccine prior to boarding. On March 9, 2022, Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra announced that the federal government would seek private proposals for operation of the proposed High Frequency Rail corridor. Labour union Unifor criticized this move, calling it a first step toward eventual privatization of Via Rail, and launched

1740-540: A passenger train again in his life. The Mulroney cuts allowed Via to consolidate its fleet of cars and locomotives, resulting in a fleet of refurbished stainless steel ( HEP -1 and HEP-2 rebuilds) and LRC cars, as well as rationalizing its locomotive fleet with GM and Bombardier (LRC) units. Via was not spared from further cutbacks in Jean Chrétien 's Liberal government elected in 1993. Minister of Finance Paul Martin 's first budget in 1994 saw further Via cuts which saw

1856-685: A predecessor of the CNW, from which the UP inherited it. Similarly, during the breakup of Conrail , the long-retired marks of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and New York Central Railroad (NYC) were temporarily brought back and applied to much of Conrail's fleet to signify which cars and locomotives were to go to CSX (all cars labeled NYC) and which to Norfolk Southern (all cars labeled PRR). Some of these cars still retain their temporary NYC marks. Because of its size, this list has been split into subpages based on

1972-490: A relatively tight 100-degree turn. Maritime transportation companies, Nunavut Sealink and Supply (NSSI) as Groupe Desgagnés , and Nunavut Eastern Arctic Sealink (NEAS) both have bases in Churchill and provide sealift to Nunavik and all Nunavut communities. The port was used for the export of Canadian grain to European markets, with rail-sea connections made at Churchill. There are no roads from Churchill that connect to

2088-691: A result of the freight train crew missing a signal light, resulting in 23 deaths. By the late 1980s, inflation and other rising costs were taking their toll on federal budgets and in the Mulroney government's 1989 budget , Via again saw its budget slashed by $ 1 billion, surpassing even the 1981 cuts under Trudeau. Minister of Transport Benoît Bouchard oversaw the reduction in service on 15 January 1990, when Via's operations were reduced by 55 percent. The privatization of CN rail in 1995 also negatively affected service as it resulted in an effective monopoly, with Via trains having to yield to CN trains. Services such as

2204-562: A set of trails created by the Canadian and US military, responsible tour operators are granted permits to access these trails for wildlife viewing. Staying on these established trails ensures that the tundra ecosystem is maintained. October and early November are the most feasible times to see polar bears, thousands of which wait on the vast peninsula until the water freezes on Hudson Bay so they can return to hunt their primary food source, ringed seals. There are also opportunities to see polar bears in

2320-424: A significant concern for maintaining on-time service. This issue arose due to typical siding sizes, which were not long enough to accommodate modern freight trains. Passenger trains were consequently placed on sidings whenever two trains passed (rather than freights), which meant that passenger trains did not have priority on CN lines. The issue existed in all parts of the Via network, although it became most extreme on

2436-693: A significant investment in the Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines , an intercity bus line in Quebec and eastern Ontario that was a key competitor of Via. Routes cut under the Martin government included the seasonal Bras d'Or tourist train, which ran for the last time in September 2004, and the Montreal-Toronto overnight Enterprise , which was discontinued in September 2005. The Sarnia-Chicago International

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2552-419: A tremendous variety of equipment — much of it in need of replacement — and operated routes stretching from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and north to Churchill, Manitoba . Over 150 scheduled trains per week were in operation, including transcontinental services, regional trains, and corridor services. While Via remains an independent federal Crown corporation mandated to operate as

2668-455: A weekly tourist train, the Bras d'Or , returned Via service to Cape Breton Island for the first time since the 1990 cuts, and a commitment was made to continue operating on Vancouver Island , but western Canada continued to languish with the only service provided by the Canadian and a few remote service trains in northern BC and Manitoba. In a significant new funding program dubbed "Renaissance",

2784-745: Is a non-profit research and education facility 23 km (14 mi) east of the town of Churchill. It provides accommodations, meals, equipment rentals, and logistical support to scientific researchers who work on a diverse range of topics of interest to northern science. The Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO), operated by the University of Manitoba , was constructed with federal funds beginning in 2015. The observatory became operational in December 2021. It facilitates studies to address technological, scientific and economic issues pertaining to Arctic oil spills , gas exploration, and other contaminants. The facility

2900-480: Is also a destination for birdwatching from late May until August; normally, 175 species are found there. Birders have recorded more than 270 species within a 40 km (25 mi) radius of Churchill, including snowy owl , tundra swan , American golden plover and gyrfalcon . More than 100 birds, including parasitic jaeger , Smith's longspur , stilt sandpiper , and Harris's sparrow nest there. Other birds that are seen around Churchill, but less often, include

3016-429: Is also at a latitude of 58 degrees north but is moderated by the warmer and much deeper Pacific Ocean . Juneau's −3.5 °C (25.7 °F) January average temperature is a full 22.5 °C (40.5 °F) warmer than Churchill's. Tourism and ecotourism are significant contributors to the local economy, with the polar bear season (October and November) being the largest. Tourists also visit to watch beluga whales in

3132-456: Is approximately 1,000 km (620 mi) south of Churchill. While not part of the city, Eskimo Point and Eskimo Island is located across the river at the former site of the Prince of Wales Fort . Various nomadic Arctic peoples lived and hunted in this region. The Thule people arrived around the year 1000 from the west, the ancestors of the present-day Inuit . The Dene people arrived around

3248-501: Is estimated to cost about $ 32 million. Churchill Airport , formerly a United States and Canadian military base, is serviced by Calm Air operating scheduled flights connecting Churchill to Winnipeg . The privately owned Port of Churchill is Canada's principal seaport on the Arctic Ocean . The port was originally constructed by the government in the 1930s, although the idea of building such an Arctic deep-water port originated in

3364-552: Is influenced by shallow soils caused by a combination of subsurface permafrost and Canadian Shield rock formation. The black spruce dominant tree cover is sparse and stunted by these environmental constraints. There is also a noticeable ice pruning effect on the trees. The area also offers sport fishing. Several tour operators offer expeditions on land, sea and air, using all-terrain vehicles, tundra buggies, boats, canoes, helicopters, and ultralight aircraft . Like all northern communities in Canada, Churchill can sometimes see

3480-460: Is located in the Churchill River estuary, and consists of two saltwater sub-pools designed to simultaneously accommodate contaminated and control experiments on various scenarios of the behaviour of oil spills in sea ice. The concrete pools are equipped with a movable fabric roof to control snow cover and ice growth, and various sensors and instruments to allow real-time monitoring. The project

3596-509: Is mainly of European descent, although a small number of Black Canadians (2.3%) and Latin Americans (1%) also reside in Churchill. English is the most commonly spoken language, followed by Cree , Inuktitut , French and Dene . The town has a modern multiplex centre housing a cinema, cafeteria, public library, hospital, health centre, daycare, swimming pool, ice hockey rink, indoor playground, gym, curling rinks and basketball courts. Nearby

Via Rail - Misplaced Pages Continue

3712-675: Is owned and maintained by other railway companies, mostly by Canadian National Railway (CN). Via Rail carried approximately 4.1 million passengers in 2023, 96 percent of which were along the Corridor routes connecting the major cities of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor , and had an on-time performance of 85.4 per cent. Attracting international tourism forms an important part of Via Rail's long distance trans-continental services. Yearly passenger levels on Canada's passenger trains peaked at 60 million during World War II . Following

3828-489: Is stenciled on each piece of equipment, along with a one- to six-digit number. This information is used to uniquely identify every such rail car or locomotive, thus allowing it to be tracked by the railroad it is traveling over, which shares the information with other railroads and customers. In multinational registries, a code indicating the home country may also be included. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) assigns marks to all carriers, under authority granted by

3944-526: Is the Itsanitaq Museum , operated by the Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson , with over 850 high quality Inuit carvings on permanent display. The exhibits include historical and contemporary sculptures of stone, bone, and ivory, as well as archaeological and wildlife specimens. The Parks Canada visitor centre also has artifacts on display and makes use of audiovisual presentations of various topics involving

4060-484: The Atlantic (under pressure from his eastern caucus and then- Saint John mayor Elsie Wayne ). Prime Minister Mulroney's government gave Via funding to refurbish some of its cars, and purchase new locomotives, this time a more reliable model from General Motors diesel division. It was during this time on 8 February 1986, that Via's eastbound Super Continental collided with a CN freight train near Hinton, Alberta , as

4176-517: The Financial Post reported that due to delays in the approval of several new pipelines from Alberta 's oil fields, oil industry planners were considering shipping oil by rail to Churchill, for loading on panamax oil tankers . Under this plan icebreakers would extend the shipping season. In July 2016, OmniTRAX announced the closure of the Port of Churchill and the end of daily rail freight service to

4292-586: The Super Continental were again discontinued, along with numerous disparate rural services such as in Nova Scotia 's Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton Island , western Canada , and in the corridor. The Canadian was also moved from its home rails on CP to the northerly CN route (previously plied by the Super Continental ). The shift to the less populated route between Toronto and Vancouver severed major western cities such as Regina and Calgary from

4408-594: The Atlantic 's service were Sherbrooke , Quebec, and Saint John, New Brunswick , where the only two Progressive Conservative Party Members of Parliament in Canada were elected in the 1993 federal election in which Chrétien's Liberal Party took power. The Ocean service which was preserved currently operates on track between Montreal and Halifax running through the lower St. Lawrence River valley and northern New Brunswick. The Minister of Transport in Chrétien's government at

4524-601: The Auditor-General of Canada , under the Financial Administration Act . As a federal Crown corporation , Via Rail Canada Inc. operates under the Canada Business Corporations Act and is subject to income taxes, should a profit ever be declared by it. The corporation had $ 9,300,000 in share capital as of 2018. Via also received $ 394.4 million of government funding in 2018. Via has explored

4640-467: The Canadian , where delays increased from an average of five hours to as much as 50 over the four-day journey. Via ultimately addressed the issue by eliminating its late policy on its cross-Canada trains but retaining it for the Corridor routes. However, Via continues to compensate inconvenienced guests with necessary hotel accommodations prior to the journey, as well as ensuring continued transportation where

4756-570: The Hudson Plains at the juncture of three ecoregions : the boreal forest to the south, the Arctic tundra to the northwest, and the Hudson Bay to the north. Wapusk National Park , located at 57°46′26″N 93°22′17″W  /  57.77389°N 93.37139°W  / 57.77389; -93.37139  ( Wapusk National Park ) , is to the southeast of the town. The landscape around Churchill

Via Rail - Misplaced Pages Continue

4872-547: The U.S. Surface Transportation Board , Transport Canada , and Mexican Government. Railinc , a subsidiary of the AAR, maintains the active reporting marks for the North American rail industry. Under current practice, the first letter must match the initial letter of the railroad name. As it also acts as a Standard Carrier Alpha Code , the reporting mark cannot conflict with codes in use by other nonrail carriers. Marks ending with

4988-573: The UAC TurboTrain trains temporarily increased numbers of passengers, reversing previous declines. These increases proved temporary; by 1977, total passenger numbers had dropped below five million. The decline of passenger rail became a federal election issue in 1974 when the government of Pierre Trudeau promised to implement a nationwide carrier similar to Amtrak in the United States. Starting in 1976, CN began branding its passenger services with

5104-577: The aurora borealis (Northern Lights) when there is a high amount of solar activity and the skies are clear, usually in February and March. Visibility also depends on the sky being dark enough to see them, which usually precludes their visibility in the summer due to nautical twilight all night long . Churchill has a very harsh subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dfc ) with long, frigid winters (from early October to May) and short, cool to mild summers. Churchill's winters are much colder than

5220-498: The fur trade and the emergence of Western agricultural success, Churchill phased into and then back out of obsolescence. After decades of frustration over the monopoly and domination of the Canadian Pacific Railway , western Canadian governments banded together. They aggressively negotiated for the creation of a significant new northern shipping harbour on Hudson Bay, linked by rail from Winnipeg . Initially, Port Nelson

5336-543: The northern hawk-owl , three-toed woodpecker and the Ross's gull . The town has a modern health centre, operated by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority , which employs about 129 people, including six doctors and eighteen nurses. It provides 21 acute care beds, dental care and diagnostic laboratories to service the residents of Churchill and the regions of Nunavut . The Churchill Northern Studies Centre

5452-402: The 19th century. It is the only Arctic Ocean seaport connected to the North American railway grid . The port is capable of servicing Panamax vessels. The presence of ice on Hudson Bay restricts navigation from mid-autumn to mid-summer. Churchill experiences the highest tides in Hudson Bay. The Churchill estuary has a narrow entrance, and ships planning to moor at the port have to execute

5568-494: The 2019 federal budget did not include a final decision for new funds for HFR. However, in January 2020 Via announced the hiring of a joint venture of engineering firms AECOM and Arup to undertake a detailed engineering study of the proposal. The Toronto city council passed a motion supporting the project on March 30, 2023. Reporting mark In North America , the mark, which consists of an alphabetic code of two to four letters,

5684-504: The 26 letters of the Latin alphabet . Diacritical marks may also be used, but they are ignored in data processing (for example, Ö is treated as though it is O ). The VKM is preceded by the code for the country (according to the alphabetical coding system described in Appendix 4 to the 1949 convention and Article 45(4) of the 1968 convention on road traffic), where the vehicle is registered and

5800-476: The Auditor General's report was the fact that Via was used as one of several federal government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations to funnel these illicit funds. Forced to act on the Auditor General's report due to its political implications, Martin's government suspended Via President Marc LeFrançois on 24 February 2004, giving him an ultimatum of several days to defend himself against allegations in

5916-559: The Canadian SUPRAD (signals intelligence) network and remained in that role until it closed its doors in 1968. The Operations and Accommodations building remains today but is abandoned. This area was also the site of the Churchill Rocket Research Range , part of Canadian-American atmospheric research. Its first rocket was launched in 1956, and it continued to host launches for research until closing in 1984. The site of

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6032-868: The Canadian highway network. The only overland route connecting Churchill to the rest of Canada is the Hudson Bay Railway , formerly part of the Canadian National Railway (CN) network, which connects the Port of Churchill and the town's railway station to CN's rail line at The Pas . The Winnipeg–Churchill train , operated by Via Rail , provides passenger service between Churchill station in downtown Churchill and Union Station in downtown Winnipeg twice per week and from The Pas once per week. The 1,700 km (1,100 mi) journey from Winnipeg takes approximately 40 hours, and services many smaller communities in northern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. In 1997,

6148-583: The Chipewyan living north of the boreal forest . Much of the fur came from as far away as Lake Athabasca and the Rocky Mountains . A defensive battery, Cape Merry Battery, was built on the opposite side of the fort to provide protection. As part of the Anglo-French dispute for North America, in 1731–1741, the original fort was replaced with Prince of Wales Fort, a large stone fort on the western peninsula at

6264-509: The Churchill River in June and July. The area is also popular for birdwatchers and to view the aurora borealis . The Port of Churchill is the terminus for the Hudson Bay Railway operated by the Arctic Gateway Group . The port facilities handle shipments of grain and other commodities around the world. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre also attracts visitors and academics from around

6380-426: The Churchill region, however, many alliances between bears are made in the fall. These friendships last only until the ice forms. Then, it is every bear for itself to hunt ringed seals . Starting in the 1980s, the town developed a sizable tourism industry focused on the migration habits of the polar bear. Tourists can safely view polar bears from specially modified vehicles built to navigate the tundra terrain. Utilizing

6496-526: The Get Canada Back on Track campaign to raise awareness and call for "a legislative framework that protects public, accessible, safe passenger rail and directs immediate public investments" to service improvements. In addition to using commercial logos, Via Rail is one of several Crown corporations that has been granted heraldic symbols by the Canadian Heraldic Authority . The coat of arms

6612-609: The Northern Ocean . In return, the British promised the same number of French prisoners would be released, and a British seaman familiar with the waters safely navigated the French away from the Hudson's Bay coastline at a time of year when the French risked becoming trapped in winter ice. The French made an unsuccessful attempt to demolish the fort. The worst effect was on the local indigenous peoples, who had become dependent on trade goods from

6728-600: The VKM BLS. Example for an "Einheitswagen" delivered in 1957: In the United Kingdom, prior to nationalisation, wagons owned by the major railways were marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway concerned; for example, wagons of the Great Western Railway were marked "G W"; those of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway were marked "L M S", etc. The codes were agreed between

6844-464: The World" and to the benefit of its burgeoning tourism industry. Churchill is located on Hudson Bay , at the mouth of the Churchill River on the 58th parallel north , far above most Canadian populated areas. Churchill is far from any other towns or cities, with Thompson , approximately 400 km (250 mi) to the south, being the closest larger settlement. Manitoba's provincial capital, Winnipeg ,

6960-545: The ability to deliver in a timely fashion, the quality of the product offering, and the price. The new fleet will consist of Siemens SC-42 locomotives hauling a combination of coaches, business-class cars, and cab cars from the Siemens Venture series to allow bi-directional operation. The trains will be built at Siemens plant in Sacramento, California , and Siemens committed to including at least 20 percent Canadian content in

7076-531: The acquiring company discontinues the name or mark of the acquired company, the discontinued mark is referred to as a "fallen flag" railway. Occasionally, long-disused marks are suddenly revived by the companies which now own them. For example, in recent years, the Union Pacific Railroad has begun to use the mark CMO on newly built covered hoppers, gondolas and five-bay coal hoppers. CMO originally belonged to Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ,

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7192-538: The bilingual name Via or Via CN. The Via logo began to appear on CN passenger locomotives and cars, while still carrying CN logos as well. That September, Via published a single timetable with information on both CN and CP trains, marking the first time that Canadians could find all major passenger trains in one publication. In 1977, CN underwent a dramatic restructuring when it placed various non-core freight railway activities into separate subsidiaries, such as ferries under CN Marine , and passenger trains under Via Rail which

7308-423: The business decisions needed to ensure the viability of intercity passenger rail service. In 1981, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 's government endorsed Minister of Transport Jean-Luc Pépin 's plan which slashed Via's budget, leading to a 40 percent reduction in the company's operations. Frequently sold-out trains such as the Super Continental and the popular Atlantic were discontinued. The retrenchment of

7424-481: The city's downtown station as far as Windsor Junction . However, in June 2019, Halifax regional council voted unanimously to direct staff "not to pursue commuter rail service further ... due to infrastructure requirements and associated financial implications, as well as operational considerations and restraints". Via developed a $ 4.4 billion high-frequency rail (HFR) service plan as a response to delays faced by sharing tracks with freight trains. The plan opts for

7540-521: The corridor, and re-allocate the HEP2 and corridor-based HEP1 cars to other parts of the network. On October 30, 2021, Via Rail implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy in line with new Transport Canada regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required all Via Rail staff and passengers aged 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel aboard Via Rail trains. Until November 30

7656-494: The creation of Via Rail included those offered by BC Rail , Algoma Central Railway , Ontario Northland Railway , Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway , various urban commuter train services operated by CN and CP, and remaining CN passenger services in Newfoundland . At this time, Via did not own any trackage and had to pay right-of-way fees to CN and CP, sometimes being the only user of rural branch lines. Via initially had

7772-406: The dark. The scheduled increased running time actually resulted in the Canadian arriving early on several occasions. However, Toronto–Vancouver service frequencies were reduced to only twice weekly during peak summer period, with a third Toronto–Edmonton run suspended entirely. [clear] On 12 December 2018, Via announced that it had awarded a contract to Siemens Canada for 32 train sets to replace

7888-425: The entire Quebec City-Windsor Corridor fleet. This marked the completion of a procurement process launched following the 2018 federal budget, which allocated funding for the fleet replacement. During the request-for-proposals stage, Via had narrowed the potential suppliers down to Siemens, Bombardier , Talgo and Stadler Rail . Siemens was ultimately selected after finishing first on the key criteria, which included

8004-796: The equipment for Canadian use. Doors and toilets froze in cold Atlantic Canada temperatures, resulting in delays and service interruptions. New diesel-electric P42DC locomotives purchased from General Electric (GE) allowed the withdrawal of older locomotives, including remaining LRCs. LRC passenger cars were retained and continued to provide much of the Corridor service. This expansion to Via's fleet has permitted scheduling flexibility. Additionally, many passenger stations have been remodelled into passenger-friendly destinations, with several hosting co-located transit and regional bus hubs for various municipalities. On 24 October 2003, federal Minister of Transport David Collenette announced $ 700 million in new funding over

8120-985: The equipment used in these services. This may also apply to commuter rail, for example Metrolink in Southern California uses the reporting mark SCAX because the equipment is owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority —which owns the Metrolink system—even though it is operated by Amtrak. This is why the reporting mark for CSX Transportation , which is an operating railroad, is CSXT instead of CSX. Private (non-common carrier) freight car owners in Mexico were issued, up until around 1990, reporting marks ending in two X's, possibly to signify that their cars followed different regulations (such as bans on friction bearing trucks) than their American counterparts and so their viability for interchange service

8236-411: The final product. The order includes an option for an additional 16 train sets to be exercised if the federal government approves Via's high-frequency dedicated-corridor project. The first train set is to be delivered for testing by winter 2021, with the first sets in service by 2022 and all trains in service by 2024. The delivery of the new trains will allow Via to retire LRC and Renaissance equipment from

8352-448: The first letter of the reporting mark: A railway vehicle must be registered in the relevant state's National Vehicle Register (NVR), as part of which process it will be assigned a 12-digit European Vehicle Number (EVN). The EVN schema is essentially the same as that used by the earlier UIC numbering systems for tractive vehicles and wagons , except that it replaces the 2-digit vehicle owner's code (see § Europe 1964 to 2005 ) with

8468-464: The flood damage. On 1 November 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Churchill residents to celebrate the resumption of rail freight service to the town. Regular freight shipments resumed in late November and passenger service in early December 2018. In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Churchill had a population of 870 living in 389 of its 540 total private dwellings,

8584-523: The former reduced Via to operating only one transcontinental train, The Canadian . Via also sought to reduce its reliance on over 30-year-old second-hand equipment and placed a significant order with Bombardier Transportation for new high-speed locomotives and cars which would be used in its corridor trains. The LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) locomotives and cars used advanced technology such as active tilt to increase speed, but proved troublesome and took several years to work out problems (by 1990 only

8700-490: The former rocket range now hosts the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a facility for multidisciplinary Arctic research. In the 1950s, the British government considered establishing a site near Churchill for testing their early nuclear weapons before choosing Australia instead. Churchill is situated at the estuary of the Churchill River at Hudson Bay. The small community stands at an ecotone , on

8816-472: The fort, and many of them starved. Extensive reconstruction and stabilization of the fort's remains have occurred since the 1950s. In 1783, Hearne returned to build a new fort a short distance upriver. Due to its distance from areas of heavy competition between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, it remained a stable, if not profitable, source of furs. Between the years of decline in

8932-597: The introduction of daily regional service in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (connecting Halifax , Moncton , and Campbellton ) to complement the thrice-weekly Ocean service to Montreal. As of 2017, Via's statement was that it was "exploring an eastern intercity corridor service" and that further developments were dependent on infrastructure upgrades and equipment testing. Via has also expressed interest in operating commuter rail service on CN tracks in Halifax that would run from

9048-575: The letter "X" are assigned to companies or individuals who own railcars, but are not operating railroads; for example, the TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train Company) is named for its original reporting mark of TTX. In another example, the reporting mark for state-funded Amtrak services in California is CDTX (whereas the usual Amtrak mark is AMTK) because the state transportation agency ( Caltrans ) owns

9164-507: The month of July 2017 (corresponding to Canada's sesquicentennial celebrations) for youth aged 18–25, costing $ 150 (several hundred dollars cheaper than a comparable rail pass would typically cost). A larger than expected response resulted in the temporary loss of functionality for Via's website. Despite plans to cap the number of passes sold at 1867 (the year of Canadian Confederation ), over 4,000 passes were ultimately sold. The company received significant backlash, as it initially appeared there

9280-502: The mouth of the river. In 1782, the French Hudson Bay expedition , led by La Pérouse , captured it. Since the British, under Samuel Hearne , were greatly outnumbered and, in any event, were not soldiers, they surrendered without firing a shot. The leaders agreed Hearne would be released and given safe passage to England, along with 31 British civilians, in the sloop Severn , on condition he immediately publish his story A Journey to

9396-580: The network. This announcement was similar in content to the previous "Renaissance II" package, and once again was criticized for not including new equipment or funding for services outside the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor. Shortly afterwards, documents obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act revealed that delays due to equipment failures had risen by 60 percent since

9512-523: The next five years. This funding was below the $ 3 billion needed to implement a high-speed rail proposal in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor nicknamed ViaFast ; however, the funding was intended to "provide for faster, more frequent and more reliable passenger service across Canada... [preserving] the option for higher speed rail, such as the Via Fast proposal," said Collenette. This new project

9628-446: The non-winter months, with tours via boat visiting the coastal areas where polar bears can be found on land and swimming in the sea. Many locals leave their cars unlocked in case someone needs to quickly escape the polar bears in the area. Local authorities maintain a so-called " polar bear jail " where bears (primarily adolescents) who persistently loiter in or close to town, are held after being tranquillised, pending release back into

9744-557: The owner of a reporting mark is taken over by another company, the old mark becomes the property of the new company. For example, when the Union Pacific Railroad (mark UP) acquired the Chicago and North Western Railway (mark CNW) in 1995, it retained the CNW mark rather than immediately repaint all acquired equipment. Some companies own several marks that are used to identify different classes of cars, such as boxcars or gondolas. If

9860-405: The owner, or more precisely the keeper of the vehicle. Thus each UIC member got a two-digit owner code . With the introduction of national vehicle registers this code became a country code. Some vehicles had to be renumbered as a consequence. The Swiss company BLS Lötschbergbahn had the owner code 63. When their vehicles were registered, they got numbers with the country code 85 for Switzerland and

9976-645: The passenger rail network and flared western bitterness toward the Government of Canada . The official justification for the rerouting was that the trains would serve more remote communities, but the concentration of ridings held by the Progressive Conservatives along the CN route attracted the charge that the move was chiefly political. Harvie André , one of Alberta's federal cabinet ministers who represented Calgary, stated publicly that he did not care if he never saw

10092-478: The popular Atlantic dropped from the schedule, focusing the eastern transcontinental service on the Ocean . CP had sold off a large portion of track the Atlantic had operated on and, as Via at that time was only mandated to provide passenger services on tracks belonging to CN or CP, the route was discontinued. This move was seen as somewhat controversial and politically motivated as the principal cities benefiting from

10208-624: The port. Weekly freight service to the town remained until May 2017, when floods washed out the track. In 2018, the Port of Churchill, the Hudson Bay Railway, and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm were purchased by Arctic Gateway Group , a public-private partnership that includes Missinippi Rail LP (a consortium of First Nations and local governments), Fairfax Financial and AGT Food and Ingredients . The group engaged Cando Rail Services and Paradox Access Solutions to repair

10324-657: The previous year. The company attributed this to problems with the aging F40 locomotive fleet. On 27 January 2009, the Government of Canada's 2009 Economic Action Plan increased funding to Via by $ 407 million to support improvements, including increased train frequencies and enhanced on-time performance and speed, particularly in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor. On 21 July 2009, Via began cancelling all trains in anticipation of an engineers' strike, which officially began at midnight on 24 July. Engineers had been without

10440-643: The protection of persons and property. A flag was also granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. It is black and charged with Via Rail's badge. Via is operated as an independent crown corporation and receives a subsidy from the Minister of Transport to provide service to remote communities. Via operates more than 500 trains per week from coast to coast. The sum of CA$ 369 million was earned from passenger revenues in 2018. Over 4.74 million passenger voyages were taken in 2018. An on-time ratio of 71 percent

10556-539: The railway line and port were sold by the Canadian government to the American railway-holding company OmniTRAX . The government of Manitoba proposed in 2010 that the Port of Churchill could serve as an "Arctic gateway," accepting container ships from Asia whose containers would then be transported south by rail to major destinations in North America. Churchill has been used to transship grain since 1929. In October 2012,

10672-544: The railways and registered with the Ministry of Railways , Government of India . Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is an Arctic port town in northern Manitoba , Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay , roughly 140 km (87 mi) from the Manitoba– Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of

10788-727: The railways and registered with the Railway Clearing House . In India, wagons owned by the Indian Railways are marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway divisions concerned along with the Hindi abbreviation; for example, trains of the Western Railway zone are marked "WR" and "प रे"; those of the Central Railway zone are marked "CR" and "मध्य", etc. The codes are agreed between

10904-430: The region's natural and archaeological history. By the late 1980s, both the local government and Parks Canada had successfully educated its population on polar bear safety, significantly reducing lethal confrontations and fuelling ecotourism such that both the community and the polar bears benefited. Churchill has a newspaper called The Hudson Bay Post . It is a monthly newspaper "published occasionally," according to

11020-399: The report or face further disciplinary action. Several days later during LeFrançois's suspension, former Via marketing department employee Myriam Bédard claimed she had been fired several years earlier when she questioned company billing practices in dealing with advertising companies. (According to CBC News , an arbitrator's report later concluded that Bédard had voluntarily left Via.) She

11136-596: The sloop Lamprey , back to Denmark. Danish archaeologists in 1964 discovered remains of the abandoned ship, the frigate Unicorn , in the tidal flats some kilometres from the mouth of the river. The discoveries were all taken to Denmark; some are on display at the National Museum in Copenhagen. After an abortive attempt in 1688–89, in 1717, the Hudson's Bay Company built the first permanent settlement, Churchill River Post,

11252-433: The south shore through Drummondville . Via claimed this would allow them to run more trains in the corridor, reduce trip times by 25 percent and improve on-time performance to over 95 percent. Feasibility studies were funded by the federal government in the 2016–2018 budgets, and the 2018 budget allowed for the funding of the fleet replacement portion of the plan, though not the dedicated rail lines. Contrary to expectations,

11368-588: The time, Douglas Young , was elected from a district that included Bathurst, New Brunswick , on the Ocean 's route. A remote Via service to Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula , the Chaleur was also spared from being cut at this time, despite carrying fewer passengers than the Atlantic . By the late 1990s, with a rail-friendly Minister of Transport, David Collenette , in office, there were modest funding increases to Via. Corridor services were improved with new and faster trains,

11484-628: The town. After World War II, the base served several other purposes, including being a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and a Strategic Air Command facility. Following the demolition of the base it was repurposed into the town's airport . Naval Radio Station Churchill, call sign CFL, was activated as an ionospheric study station by the Royal Canadian Navy in support of the U-boat high-frequency direction finding (HFDF) net and became operational on 1 August 1943. Around 1949, Churchill became part of

11600-426: The war, the growth of air travel and the personal automobile caused significant loss of mode share for Canada's passenger train operators. By the 1960s Canadian National Railway (CN) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) found that passenger trains were no longer economically viable. CP sought to divest itself of its passenger trains, but federal government regulators and politicians balked, forcing them to maintain

11716-409: The wild when the bay freezes over. It is the subject of a poem, Churchill Bear Jail , written by Salish Chief Victor A. Charlo. Thousands of beluga whales , which move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River estuary during July and August to calf, are a significant summer attraction. Polar bears are present as well and can sometimes be seen from boat tours at this time of year. Churchill

11832-597: The world who are interested in sub-Arctic and Arctic research. The town also has a health centre, several hotels, tour operators, and restaurants; it serves locals and visitors. Churchill is situated along Manitoba's 1,400 km (870 mi) coastline, on Hudson Bay at the meeting of three major biomes : marine, boreal forest and tundra, each supporting a variety of flora and fauna. Each year, 10,000–12,000 eco-tourists visit, about 400–500 of whom are birders. Polar bears were once considered solitary animals that would avoid contact with other bears except for mating. In

11948-466: The year 500 from farther north. Since before the time of European contact, the region around Churchill has been predominantly inhabited by the Chipewyan and Cree peoples. Europeans first arrived in the area in 1619 when a Danish expedition led by Jens Munk wintered near where Churchill would later stand. Only 3 of 64 expedition members survived the winter and sailed one of the expedition's two ships,

12064-426: Was achieved in that year. Over 3,115 persons were employed by Via by the end of 2018. Via president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano stated that the subsidy for passenger rail travel in Canada in 2015 was about 200 percent: for every $ 1 travellers spend on fares, Canada pays $ 2 in subsidy. As of May 2019, the chair of the board of directors is Françoise Bertrand. The Annual accounts of Via are audited to GAAP principles by

12180-526: Was also discontinued in April 2004 by Amtrak. Via's portion of the route from Toronto-Sarnia remained in operation as Via was able to use their own equipment to operate the train. The federal Auditor General 's report released on 10 February 2004 showed what appeared to be a criminal misdirection of government funds intended for advertising to key Quebec-based supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada . Included in

12296-557: Was completed, commercial shipping took many more years to pick up. In 1932, Grant MacEwan was the first person to cross through Churchill customs as a passenger. This was purely due to his determination to take the Hudson Bay route to Saskatchewan from Britain—most passengers returned via the St. Lawrence River . In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces established a base called Fort Churchill, 8 km (5.0 mi) east of

12412-421: Was for capital projects and the remainder additional operating funding). The capital funding was earmarked to refurbish Via's fleet of 54 F40PH-2 locomotives to meet new emissions standards and extend their service lives by 15–20 years, refurbish the interiors of LRC coaches, reduce track capacity bottlenecks and speed restrictions in the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor, and make repairs to a number of stations across

12528-406: Was granted on May 15, 2020, and presented by Canada's Chief Herald. An heraldic badge was approved for use at the same time as the coat of arms. The badge design follows the design of a law enforcement agency badge in Canada, denoting the responsibilities of Via Rail Police Service . The Royal Crown indicates that Via Rail has police constables appointed for the enforcement of the laws relating to

12644-564: Was impaired. This often resulted in five-letter reporting marks, an option not otherwise allowed by the AAR. Companies owning trailers used in trailer-on-flatcar service are assigned marks ending with the letter "Z", and the National Motor Freight Traffic Association , which maintains the list of Standard Carrier Alpha Codes, assigns marks ending in "U" to owners of intermodal containers . The standard ISO 6346 covers identifiers for intermodal containers. When

12760-462: Was no limit on the number of passes available. Extreme winter conditions had always been an operational hazard for Via, with the Ottawa routes and Canadian being most vulnerable. Equally, summer repairs and construction often delayed trains systemwide, even though schedules were regularly adjusted in an attempt to minimize delays. However, by 2018, freight traffic on the heavily used CN lines had become

12876-421: Was not passed. The Quebec-Windsor corridor was the focus of service restorations and implements. A direct Ottawa-Quebec City train was restored, with additional trips between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto being added. In 2016, LRC passenger cars used for the corridor were refurbished; in the Via 1 class, this included single seating. In March 2017, Via announced the release of a new category of rail pass valid for

12992-717: Was publicly belittled by Via CEO Jean Pelletier in national media on 27 February 2004. Pelletier retracted his statements but on 1 March, Pelletier was fired. By 5 March, after failing to defend himself adequately against the allegations in the Auditor General's report, LeFrançois was fired as well. The reversal of funding in 2003 led to a backlog of deferred maintenance and left Via unable to replace or refurbish life-expired locomotives and rolling stock. Conversely, Via ridership increased from 3.8 million in 2005 to 4.1 million in 2006. On 11 October 2007, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced federal government funding of $ 691.9 million over five years (of which $ 519 million

13108-473: Was selected for this purpose in 1912. After several years of effort and millions of dollars, this project was abandoned, and Churchill was chosen as the alternative after World War One . Surveys by the Canadian Hydrographic Service ship CSS  Acadia opened the way for safe navigation. Construction was completed by 1929. Once this transportation rail link from farms to the Churchill port

13224-422: Was subsequently renamed Via Rail Canada. On 12 January 1977, CN spun off its passenger services as a separate Crown corporation, Via Rail Canada. At its inception, Via acquired all CN passenger cars and locomotives. Following several months of negotiation, on 29 October 1978, Via assumed all CP passenger train operations and took possession of cars and locomotives. Passenger train services which were not included in

13340-492: Was suspended indefinitely due to deteriorating track (it has yet to resume). By 27 June 2012, Via announced additional service cuts due to funding issues: To address declining on-time performance due to freight train traffic on Via routes, MP Olivia Chow drafted a private member's bill in 2014 that would reorganize the company and allow the government to force freight rail carriers to give scheduling priority to public passenger rail. However, as with most private member's bills, it

13456-478: Was to be called "Renaissance II". On 18 December 2003, Liberal Prime Minister (PM) Paul Martin froze federal spending on all major capital projects, including Via's five-year $ 700 million "Renaissance II" program announced just six weeks earlier by outgoing PM Chrétien's administration. Critics of Martin's cuts claimed that he was in a conflict of interest as his family through Canada Steamship Lines and various subsidiary and affiliated companies had once had

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